Container for fruits and vegetables



March 31, 1953 J. E. SNYDER 2,633,238

CONTAINER FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES Filed Dec. 51, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 4 f 5 l I l l I l l I l I I 1 7 i 2 [1' 'i y lo 9 I I 8 I v grwwwtow v JAMES E. SNYDER FIG. 2

ATTORNEY Mar-ch 1953 J. E. SNYDER CONTAINER FOR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Dec. 31, 1949 JAMES E. SNYDER FIG. 5

ATTO R N EY Patented Mar. 31, 1953 James E.- Snyder, Akron, hio, assignor to WingfootCorporation, Akron, Ohio, a corporationof Delaware Application December 31, 1949, SerialNo. 136,380

This invention relates to a container for the packaging of meats, fruits and vegetables.

(The container may be made the same sizes as the conventional berry boxes. It may be made any desired size and shape. A box the width and height of a standard quart berry box but elongated, of the type herein described, may be used to advantage for packagingfresh vegetables, such asipeas in the pod, Brussels sprouts, string beans, etc., and vegetables so packaged may be marketed a fresh condition. A somewhat smaller container of rectangular cross section is a good size for quick-freezing vegetables, meats, etc., including shrimp, shelled lima beans, shelled peas, corn, etc. Containers the sizes of berry boxes may be used for packaging fresh strawberries, blackberries, currants, cranberries, cherries, and mushrooms, etc. and these may be marketed in fresh or frozen condition. The container is made with a transparent top and one or two transparent sides. By enclosing the package with a top, contamination, infestation, pilfering, and bruising of fresh produce are prevented. Likewise the top permits tipping Without spilling. The transparent sides permit inspection of the product throughout and discourage the hiding of inferior produce under a top layer of produce of better grade.

The container of this invention is made with a bottom and two opposite sides of boxboard. A third side may be made of cardboard but is preferably transparent. The container is completed before filling. An opening for filling is provided in the boxboard portion of the container. A stiff wire frame placed over the tops of the two opposite boxboard sides keeps the box in shape and supports the film top and sides.

The invention will be further described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a view in perspective of the finished box ready for filling;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the boxboard sheet used in the manufacture of the container, viewing the surface which is to be the inside of the finished box;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the box looking through the open ends before the film is applied;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the box looking at the boxboard ends before the film is applied;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the container before the film is applied; and

Fig. 6 is a detail showing the film sealed to the flap and to the box around the flap.

The container is formed of a boxboard hot- 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-4533) tom l and two boxboard ends '2 and 3whi'ch are integral with the bottom. These ends are provided with flaps and 5 of somewhat reduced Width. The boxboard is scored on the undersurface along the lines 6 between the bottom section I and the two ends, to facilitate bendin these ends upwardly. The lines! between the ends and the flaps are scored on the upper sur face to facilitate bending the flaps downwardly. A flap opening 8 with a thumb hole 9 is provided in the bottom I. Fig. 1 shows the flap 8 somewhat open and the thumbhole 9 entirely cut away. Fig. 3 likewise shows the fiap'8 in the partially opened condition. In Fig. 5 the fiap 8 is-held closed by the adhesive tape I0. If this tape is provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive it may be applied to the blank sheet (Fig. 2) before manufacturing the box.

The boxboard ends are held erect by the wire frame, the sides II and I2 of which lie in one plane and the sides I3 and I4 of which are ofiset the distance of the side-and-end length I5, and lie in a lower plane. Fig. 1 clearly shows how the wire sides II and I2 lie on top of the boxboard ends 2 and 3. Figs. 1, 3 and 4 show how the offset sides It and I4 lie against the ends 2 and 3 below their top edges. The lengths I5 also lie flush against the ends 2 and 3. The flaps 4 and 5 are folded down over the offset portions I3 and I4 of the wire frame and are held in position by the staples I6.

After the flaps 4 and 5 have been stapled in place the container is covered with transparent film. This film may be cellophane, rubber hydrochloride film or the like. In forming the film cover it is advantageous to have the center of the film cover the top of the package and its two edges I1 and I8 overlap across the bottom of the container. Then the enclosure will be completed by folding the other edges I9 and 20 of the film toward the outside of the two boxboard walls. The film may be held in place by uniting overlapping portions of it with adhesive or, if a plastic is used, solvent or heat-sealing may be employed. Ordinarily moisture tightness is not a requisite and, therefore, the seals need not be made tight. After the film covering is completed the portion of the film covering the flap is cut away or the film may be out along the three free edges of the flap and fastened to the flap. It is generally desirable to unite the film to the boxboard bottom adjacent the cut edges. The film may be cut with a hot wire on the three sides of the flap. This forms a small bead on each edge of the cut film so that the edge 2| (Fig. 6) of the film that covers the flap is spaced somewhat from the edge 22 which covers the balance of the bottom of the container. These may be separately adhered to the flap and the bottom of the container by adhesive 23. If moisture tightness is desired the sealing tape I0 is advantageously replaced by a tape which covers the opening around the edges of the flap.

The box is completed before filling. It is then inverted, the flap 8 is opened, the produce, etc.

is introduced into the container through the flap opening and the flap is sealed shut. If the packages have vertical Walls, they may be stacked on one another provided their Weight is not in excess of the weight which the boxboard sides will support. For additional protection a film over-wrap may be used. This may be tightly sealed where protection against moisture or gases or the like is required.

The container is advantageously manufactured in a machine which applies the film covering and glues or otherwise seals it around the boxboard and alsofuses a hot wire or other cutting device to cut the wrap around the bottom flap. If the flap and bottom are covered with a thermosealable plastic, the film may be sealed to the box by heat at the same time it is cut at the edges of the flap. If the film used is made from an elastomer and it has been at least slightly stretched, subsequent heating by passing the completed container through a hot-air chamber will shrink the film sufilciently to make all of the film panels taut and thus improve the appearance of the container.

What I claim is:

An empty container with a boxboard bottom and two boxboard sides on opposite sides of the container, a flap opening in the boxboard bottom, a closed loop of wire forming a rectangular frame two opposite sides of which lie in a common plane and rest on the upper edges of the respective boxboard sides adjacent the respective corners thereof, the other two sides of the frame being offset downwardly at right angles to said plane and being held adjacent the outer surfaces of the respective boxboard sides, and transparent film covering the aforesaid assembly to the edges of said flap and forming the top and two sides of the container, said film being permanently adhered to the outside of said boxboard.

JAMES E. SNYDER.

REFERENCES CITED- The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

